Whispers of a Mourning Sky
by Kaisliana
Summary: Jake made to get up, telling himself that if that bastard ended up dead today people would consider Jake a hero, but Sam gripped his arm tight. “Don’t leave me Jake. I don’t know what to do.” CHAPTER 3 UP. FINALLY!
1. Like Violence

Whispers of a Mourning Sky

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own anything. I was just bored, and I figured I'd write a story that gives my least favorite character a little bit of a hard time. That's probably an understatement…but I really don't care.

**AN:** Um…So, now that I'm back from my almost unbearably long hiatus, I realized that there were quite a few little facts in my story that really didn't add up…especially after the release of Run Away Home.

Like…How Linc somehow escaped prison and joined the cattle drive, and how Dark Sunshine inexplicably ended up in the paddock with her daughter, since she's supposed to be trapped in Wild Horse Valley with the Phantom's herd.

Haha.

So I'm tweaking the first two chapters and reposting them. Hopefully, they make sense now. Please don't hesitate to let me know if I missed some.

Then I'll get to work on Chapter three.



**Chapter One: Like Violence**

"Sam?"

Jake Ely had just ridden into the yard of River Bend Ranch on his black mare, Witch. His mother had sent him over to check on Sam for two reasons: The first was because the fifteen year-old Samantha was currently the sole human resident of the ranch. The second was because, according to Mrs. Ely, it was the "neighborly" thing to do.

The rest of Sam's family; her dad, her stepmom, stepbrother, and grandmother were out on the range, participating in the summer cattle drive along with their cowboys, Dallas, Pepper and Ross, Jake's father and brothers, and Sam's best friend Jen and her father Jed who were representing the newly established Harmony Ranch.

They wouldn't be back for another three days.

Jake looked around the yard. Excluding the Buick, which Gram had taken with her, all of the cars were still parked off to the right. Jake knew Sam wasn't the type for joy-riding, but she'd befriended Darrell lately, so he couldn't be quite sure. The horses that hadn't been taken with the family were in the corral and Jake could hear Ace calling to Popcorn from the barn. In her own paddock, which was partially hidden behind the barn, Tempest whinnied shrilly, teasing an indignant Strawberry through the openings in the fence. Jake frowned. The little mustang filly was going to be just like her sire.

Walking up the steps Jake reached out and knocked on the door. He knocked once, twice and waited. After five minutes of no one coming to the door, Jake turned and looked at the barn.

Deciding he'd been wrong about Sam being in the house he headed for the large structure that smelled strongly of horses and hay. She was probably in there grooming Ace or preparing to go baby Tempest or something.

He looked in Ace's stall and checked on Tempest outside. He even looked behind the hay bales, for reasons he wasn't quite sure of. She wasn't there.

Jake was starting to panic.

--_Okay. She's probably taking a shower and I just didn't hear the water running. Don't freak out. Try the door again.--_

Jake strode across the yard again, heading for the front door of the little ranch house. On his way, he glanced at Witch to make sure she was still where he'd left her tied to a post. She was fidgeting, agitated with something. In fact, now that he actually looked for it, he saw that all the animals were restless.

Blaze sat in front of the door, whining and scratching the white paint with one forepaw. Jake hadn't noticed him before. He sped up and leaped up the stairs. If Blaze was outside and trying to get in, something must be wrong.

Jake reached for the door again, ready to knock. Instead, he grabbed the door handle and pushed, not stopping to worry about it being locked. The Forster's never locked their door.

The cold air from the air conditioner rushed against his face, blowing the stray wisps of hair that had escaped the leather thong back. It cooled his face where the sun's heat had made the skin hot to the touch.

His eyes went in and out of focus rapidly as they tried to adjust to the dark of the house. After a few frantic seconds of not being able to see, they did and Jake saw a Tupperware container on the kitchen floor, tipped over on its side so that its contents splattered halfway to the legs of the table.

"Sam?" Jake tried again, raising his voice so that even if she were upstairs she would hear him. "Are you in here?"

No answer.

"Sam?

Jake listened hard. No sound came to him from up the stairs. He didn't hear the shower running or the sounds of someone splashing in a full bathtub. He couldn't hear the sounds of Sam snoring either, so she wasn't taking a nap in her room.

He was about to give up completely and call his mom when he finally heard a noise coming from the living room. He stopped moving and listened.

There it was again. Jake shook his head, not believing his ears. It couldn't be. It sounded like someone was crying in there.

He turned his head slowly towards the doorway leading to the adjacent room.

Another sob. Choked and wet and female.

It had to be Sam, it couldn't be anyone else. Jake asked anyway.

"Sam?"

He could see her huddled in the corner between the couch and the wall. From his position in the middle of the room he saw that she sat with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her knees. Her forehead rested in the crevice between them and her entire body quivered with suppressed sobs. Occasionally, one would break loose and she would rock with the force of it.

Now Jake was scared. He'd never seen her cry like that.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

It didn't even occur to him to call her Brat, his nickname for her since they were kids. He was too worried.

This time she heard him. Her head jerked up, eyes wide, hair in her face, damp with tears. She looked like a startled horse. She looked at him like she didn't even know him for a moment. Then her eyes went impossibly wider and she scrambled backwards to get further into the corner. She didn't recognize him. She was terrified.

Startled, Jake could only watch her as she desperately clawed at the wall, trying to get further away than the wall would allow.

"Sam…tell me what's wrong. Tell me what happened," he winced at the sound of his voice. It was weak and pained and totally unlike him.

But Sam stopped her onslaught on the wall and looked over her shoulder at him. She was still crying and her tears were still streaming down her face but she seemed to finally realize who he was.

"Jake?" Her voice cracked and rasped, as if she'd lost it from screaming or crying too much and was only just getting it back.

Something about it made his own throat close. She sounded hopeful and heartbroken at the same time. She sounded like part of her was missing, or had been taken away.

Jake only nodded in response.

For a moment, her face was transformed by happiness, but it passed so quickly Jake had half a mind to believe that it hadn't been there at all. She nearly threw herself away from the wall towards him.

Wordlessly, Jake held his arms open for her.

He wasn't into hugs, and she knew he wasn't, but she latched onto him anyway. The shock from the fact that she obviously needed one so badly was the only thing that kept him rooted to the spot.

The top of her head lightly bumped his chin as she hit him with more force than he'd expected, and her tears started fresh as his arms closed around her of their own will.

She shuddered against his body and all he could think of doing was to tighten his arms around her protectively.

They stood like that together for a long time; Sam crying into Jake's shirt and Jake staring straight over her head, lost in a trance, hypnotized by her unsteady breathing.

After a while, Jake became aware of a niggling pain in his leg. It flared once and then his leg went to sleep.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath.

A sharp intake of breath told him that Sam had heard.

"Sam…I need to sit down. My leg just fell asleep."

She whispered something, but her throat was so raw that it came out as an incomprehensible croak. Jake took it as permission to move anyway.

It was awkward moving at first, but eventually he managed to back up to the couch and fall onto it, still holding Sam. She landed on his lap, immediately curling herself into a ball. Then she was still, except for the small tremors that passed through her body

Jake was silent, he didn't want to talk, but he had to know. He silently cursed himself for his current weakness and asked.

"Sam, I need to know what happened. You need to tell me so I can help."

Sam's inhale sounded as if she's just punched in the stomach. With an agonized cry that hurt his ears, she burst into a fresh fit of hysterics.

As a reflex, Jake tightened his arms around her.

He was beginning to think she'd never tell him.

Right before she found her voice and got the courage to confide in the one person she knew she could trust to help her, no matter what, Jake's eye caught something odd in the corner of the room where Sam had been. A dark spot on the carpet, right where she'd been huddled. It was blood.

Jake froze. She was bleeding.

One last racking breath shook her body on his lap, and then she sighed.

"Jake," her whisper was almost as inaudible as it was before, but he heard it this time.

He grunted, letting her know in his own special way that he'd heard, urging her to continue.

She took a few breaths during her pause, as if to fortify herself against the next few words, and then continued in an even quieter voice.

"He raped me."

Jake's spine stiffened. His face closed. His mind went blank. A roaring filled his ears.

He thought he would've yelled, or screamed, or even ranted around the room, but he didn't. All he could manage was a quiet, menacingly whispered, "Who?"

Sam was quiet for so long, Jake was sure she hadn't heard him. But then she took another breath and responded in a louder, but still shaky voice, "Slocum."

Jake nearly dislodged her from his lap with his jerk. His initial instinct was to ride for Harmony Ranch immediately and strangle him. But he forced himself to ask another question, more to keep himself distracted than anything else.

"Which one?"

Sam actually laughed when the words left his mouth. It was bitter and, despite the fact that she'd nearly flooded the room with her earlier tears, dry.

"The only one with opportunity. Seeing as how Linc is in prison and Rachel is in England and doesn't exactly have the right _equipment_, there's only one other possibility."

Jake made to get up, telling himself that if that bastard ended up dead today people would consider Jake a hero, but Sam gripped his arm tight. Despite her small size, she had more strength than he'd realized. He couldn't move.

Her next words were filled with pain and hope and trust, and were probably more effective than her grip; Jake could break her grip if he tried, but he couldn't escape her words, no matter how much he wanted to.

"Don't leave me," It wasn't a question.

From her position on his lap she looked up at him, her powerful grip still in place on his arm.

He leaned a little away from her so he could look into her face.

Sam hesitated for a moment, "Don't leave me. I don't -- ," She cut herself off abruptly with a tiny gasp, afraid to continue. She didn't want to make Jake uncomfortable with her weakness, but she really didn't want him to leave either. She tried again.

"Don't leave me Jake. I don't know what to do."

The tears she'd thought she'd already spent began to leak out of the corners of her eyes again.

She removed her hand from his arm, her fingers leaving white marks where they'd been, and placed it gently on her lap.

To hide her tears from Jake she looked down and smoothed a wrinkle in her jeans with shaking fingers. The other hand remained where it was in her lap.

Despite Sam's attempt to hide her face from his view, Jake noticed the fresh tears running down her cheek. His first reaction was to run. He hated to see her cry. But she had been hurt, and she had every reason to. Plus, he knew he couldn't leave her.

He also noticed her shaking hands. The knowledge that she'd been injured beyond repair made him do something totally un-Jake-like for the second time that day.

He covered her small, pale hand with his own large, dark one, in an attempt to stop its trembling.

Sam froze. Her eyes flashed and memory flared.

_-- Ryan's smooth hands trailed down her arms slowly, almost gently. Only the manic gleam in his eyes and the cruel twist to the corners of his mouth told her that he was not in the least bit concerned with her comfort._

_The spaghetti lay forgotten on the floor, dropped when Ryan had roughly grabbed her upper-arm to turn her around and pin her to the wall._

_Her shorts had been torn from her body, as had her underwear, and Ryan's hands had found their way to her stomach. When they began to trail lower towards the apex of her thighs, Sam winced._

_She did not cry, she wouldn't give him the pleasure, but the silky smoothness of his palms, completely devoid of calluses, was so unfamiliar against her skin. --_

Sam flinched violently, snapping herself out of her reverie like a taught rubber band being cut, and yanked her hand out from under Jake's.

He had meant to comfort her, but the action had caused her to remember what she desperately wanted to forget, and she wanted to get away. Now.

She flew out of his lap and across the room where she hit the opposite wall with all the force in her body. It boomed and shuddered with the impact. She turned so that she was facing Jake, back to the wall, and slid downwards. Eyes closed, breathing heavy, she hit the floor and fell to her side, silently.

She'd scared Jake enough that he actually felt like attempting to comfort her with words. He tried to say something, but when he opened his mouth he was unable to get the words to come out. Instead, he started to get off the couch and head toward her.

He'd taken only two steps when Sam's breathless voice reached him, "No Jake."

He stopped where he was, and started to wonder about his next course of action.

He knew he had to get her to the hospital, as fast as possible. The problem was, he didn't know how to get her there.

Suddenly, he found his voice.

"Sam, I have to get you to the hospital but I don't have a car. I rode Witch here and you can't ride in your condition. Not all the way to Darton," Jake trailed off thinking of all the people he could hitch a ride from.

There was his mom, but he knew she'd probably start crying and would delay them further. Jen was on the cattle drive and he'd be damned before he called to ask Mrs. Coley and risk getting Ryan instead. The more time that passed before he saw him, the better. And he really didn't think going to jail for murder would help at all.

The only solution he could see was to ride Witch home, pick up his car and come back to get Sam. But that trip would take an hour, at least, and he couldn't leave her alone for that long.

Jake was so wrapped up in trying to find a ride, he almost missed Sam's croaked suggestion.

"Darrell."

_-- Hey, yeah! –_

Darrell would do it. He hated the Slocums almost as much as Jake did and, even though he'd never verbally admit it, he had a massive soft spot for Sam. Plus, he can drive…he could even do it _legally_.

Jake nodded and left Sam where she was as he walked into the kitchen to call his friend.

Darrell answered his cell phone after three rings, like always.

"Hey, my man! What's up?"

Jake nearly hit the floor with his relief.

"You there man? Cause I'm almost to level thirteen. If you don't say something, I'm gone…"

"No!" Jake hadn't meant to yell, but they were wasting time. "Uh, sorry man, but I really need your help."

A pause, then, "Yeah? What for?"

"You know Slocum?" Jake didn't have to specify. He knew that Darrell knew who he was talking about.

"Yeah."

"He hurt Sam. Badly. We need a ride to the hospital."

In the background Jake heard the clatter of what was probably the controller hitting the floor and then Darrell yelped right in his ear.

"What?"

Jake winced. Darrell was his loudest friend.

"I'll explain everything later. But, man, she really needs to see a doctor."

Jake had barely finished when Darrell said the four words he'd been hoping to hear and nearly fainted with relief when he did.

"I'm on my way."

**AUTHORS'S NOTE:** Yeah…I realize it's a little rushed. But hey! I was just trying to kill time before I had to go somewhere. Anyway, please review. Flames will be laughed at with my friends and then used to melt my eyeliner.


	2. Bruised and Broken

Whispers of a Mourning Sky

**DISCLAIMER:** It's not mine. Thanks for the reminder!

**AN:** Again…Please let me know if I left anything in there that doesn't make sense in a story that's following the books.

**Chapter Two: Bruised and Broken **

Half an hour later, when Darrell's car pulled over the bridge and into the ranch yard, Sam hadn't moved from her spot on the floor, hadn't so much as twitched a muscle. Jake sat on the couch across the room, arms crossed tightly over his chest, watching her in her silent suffering.

Her tears spent for the moment, she stared wide-eyed at nothing. Her jeans were soaked through with blood, though the flow seemed to have stopped, and she had a streak of it smeared across her right cheek. Jake hadn't noticed it before now.

Darrell knocked hard on the door and broke Jake's intent study of the young girl on the floor.

With a sigh he put his on his knees and pushed himself up, wincing, as if he'd suddenly grown old. With stiff steps he made his way to the front door.

The moment Darrell saw him he started to fire off questions, one after another.

"Dude, where is she? Is she alright? What happened? Man, I'm gonna kill Slocum. Have you seen him yet?" He took a deep breath and then hooked his finger around his sunglasses, pulling them down his nose as he squinted at Jake through the screen. "You're pale, man," he looked Jake up and down, his gaze resting for a moment on Jake's jeans and added, "You're also covered in blood. Are you hurt, too? What happened?"

Jake looked down and saw that his friend was right. Sam's blood stained the front of his faded blue jeans, and, now that it had been brought to his attention, he could feel that it'd soaked through them and caused the material to stick uncomfortably to his skin. Jake suddenly felt light-headed, as if he was about to faint, but he didn't. The uber-masculine voice inside his head told him that Jake Ely doesn't faint over anything.

He blinked and looked back up at Darrell, only to find that he was speaking again.

"Hey man! You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost," after a moment of staring wordlessly at his friend he took off his sunglasses, tucked them into his shirt and added, "Tell me what happened."

Jake opened the screen door and joined Darrell on the front porch.

He spoke, for the first time since he'd hung up the phone, and he barely recognized his own voice. It was hesitant, breathless, and meek. The voice in his mind shook its head in disappointment.

"Yeah…" he took a deep breath, filling his lungs to their full capacity, held it for a moment, and let it out in a _whoosh_, "Yeah, I'm fine man, just a little shocked. This is Sam's blood, not m-"

Darrell cut him off.

"She's bleeding? Just what did that bastard _do_ to her?"

His voice echoed across the ranch. Jake winced at the volume. For reasons that weren't entirely clear to him, he didn't want Sam to hear this conversation.

Witch's head snapped up from where she'd been trying to reach a juicy looking patch of grass and she glared at the two boys. She was still tied to the post; Jake had forgotten to put her in the pasture.

Jake looked at his horse for a second, then at the rest of the horses in the pasture, then at the barn, avoiding Darrell's eyes. If he could do that, he wouldn't have to answer the question, and then it wouldn't have to be true. When he ran out of things to look at, he looked at his boots.

Darrell flicked his ear, hard, and Jake's head shot up, exactly like his horse's had a few moments before. Unwillingly, he met Darrell's eyes and sighed. Nudging his face into a blank mask, he kept his voice quite when he replied.

"He raped her, man."

Darrell immediately paled and started to turn, as if he was going to run back to his car, but Jake grabbed his bicep in an iron grip, effectively keeping him where he was.

"Don't man. Killing him isn't gonna help her right now. Trust me, I've already thought about doing it," his mouth set in a grim line, "We need to get her to the hospital, and we're gonna need you and your car to get us there."

Darrell looked at Jake's hand on his arm and then at Jake himself. Then he nodded and hung his head, looking disappointed that he couldn't go after Ryan and resigned to Jake's statement that he was needed here instead. He stayed put when Jake released him, and turned back around to follow Jake into the house.

Because he still looked at the ground, he almost ran into Jake when he abruptly stopped and held out his arm, barring Darrell's path.

"Be careful, man. Don't touch her. I think she gets flashbacks of what happened because she flipped out and nearly took out the wall when I touched her hand," he paused for a moment, distantly realizing that he was speaking in longer sentences than usual, before adding, "It's also a pretty sad sight. Just letting you know."

Then he continued on into the house, Darrell following at his heels like a puppy.

Sam still hadn't moved. They found her in the living room, in the same position in the same spot on the floor, and moved silently towards her.

Darrell stepped out from behind his taller friend, anxiously shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Sam? Ya know who I am?" His shaky voice might've been amusing to Jake in another situation, but because of the seriousness of this one, Jake didn't even acknowledge it.

Sam looked up at them from the floor, tilting her head back on her neck, eyes red and puffy from all her tears, and blinked. For a moment she looked at him like she didn't, in fact, know who he was. Then she blinked again, nodded twice and croaked in a voice that only slightly resembled her own, "Hi Darrell."

Darrell sat heavily on the floor in front of her, his hands clasped tightly together on his lap. He shifted, looking uncomfortable, and then attempted to engage her in conversation, trying to get her talking.

His amount of success varied. Most of the time she would just stare silently at a spot on the floor near his foot, as if she found it interesting. Occasionally, she nodded or shook her head, but he couldn't get her to talk, or even smile. No matter what he said her mouth didn't move, didn't even twitch.

Jake watched this awkward and stumbling exchange for a while from his position leaning against the wall near the kitchen.

A bell chimed, a signal from the clock on the wall that it was time to get going.

Jake jerked at the noise, then looked at the clock responsible for it. It was definitely time to move.

He coughed.

They ignored him. Or they didn't hear him. It didn't matter.

He coughed again, a little louder, with more force behind it and they both looked at him. They'd forgotten he was even in the room.

Uneasy, he looked at his feet, as if he was sorry he had to disrupt them, as he said, "We need to get a move on. She'd bleeding. I'd feel a lot better if she got to the hospital as soon as possible."

In the silence that invaded the room Darrell looked from Jake to Sam, then back to Jake, and then back to Sam again. "He's right. Let's go"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Darrell drove while Jake sat in the back with Sam. Still wary of touching her for fear of triggering another episode, he settled in the seat on the opposite side of the car.

His efforts were thwarted, however, when, ten minutes into the drive, Sam unbuckled herself and silently crawled into Jake's lap.

He froze, still half-determined not to touch her despite the fact that she was curled up on his lap, torn between the warning bells that went off in his head and the unfamiliar and unexplainable urge to try and comfort her. His uncertainty caused him to hold his arms away from her as far as they could go, which wasn't far, considering the car's limited space and all.

With wide eyes he met Darrell's in the rearview mirror. The other boy shook his head slowly, sadly, and then focused on the road. The car picked up speed, but it was so subtle that Jake didn't even notice.

He was too scared to focus on anything but Sam as he slowly lowered his arms to encircle her, waiting for the explosion that he was certain would come.

Her only response was to snuggle deeper into his chest and start to cry again, weakly.

Feeling the slight weight of her head on his chest, he took a deep breath.

Suddenly, he had the desire to kick himself when he remembered that he'd told no one but Darrell what had happened. Wyatt, Brynna and Grace needed to know. Jen needed to know. His mom needed to know. He looked up and caught Darrell's eye again.

"Let me see your phone, man."

Wordlessly, Darrell tossed the small cell phone over his shoulder, confidant that Jake would catch it, or unconcerned that he wouldn't.

He did, and flipped it open. After checking to make sure that he had service, an unreliable commodity in the desert, Jake dialed his home phone number and put the device to his ear.

It rang four times before someone on the other end picked up the phone.

"Hello?" His mother's clear voice rang in Jake's ear.

"Mom? It's Jake," in the background Jake heard his mother's favorite radio station and the distant sound of the oven beeping.

"Jake? What's wrong?" Worry was not evident in her voice. At least, not yet it wasn't.

"Have you heard from Dad yet?" He ignored her question, something that he usually never did because he knew it wasn't the smartest thing to do.

"Why no, dear. Is everything all right?" Now she sounded worried, but only faintly.

Deciding that, while ignoring her once was stupid enough, doing it twice would be suicidal, Jake answered her. "River Bend is fine, Mom," before continuing he looked down at Sam. She appeared to be fast asleep. Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes lashes fluttered every which way as she dreamed. About what, Jake didn't know. As long as she didn't wake up screaming from a nightmare, he didn't care either. The streak of blood was fractured where her tears had run their course down her face to drip off her chin and onto his shirt. "Sam's the reason I'm calling."

In the mirror Jake saw Darrell's eyes flick from the road to him and back to the road, but he didn't notice their surroundings or the car's continued acceleration.

"Sam? Is she alright? What happened to her?" Worry was now causing Jake's mother's voice to raise in pitch and splinter.

"Mom, she-" Jake very nearly smacked himself for hesitating. It made him look weak. That little voice in his head kicked at the walls that confined it in disgust.

"She what? Jake, honey, you're scaring me."

Taking a deep breath, he mentally squashed the edgy feeling that told him not to say it, and continued.

"She was raped, Mom."

For a moment, all was silent. Jake could still hear the radio, but the oven was silent. He could also almost feel his mom gripping the phone so hard her knuckles turned white. The plastic creaked in protest.

"This is a very poor joke, Jake," the tightness in his mother's voice and her words made him feel as if she'd slapped him.

"It's no joke," he forced himself to stay calm and to keep an indignant tone out of his voice. "I found her in the corner, huddled in a ball. Her jeans are soaked through with blood, and she's won't stop crying. She's asleep now; Darrell and I are taking her to the hospital."

He waited. One the other end he heard a sniff and knew that his mom was crying.

"Mom?" taking the phone from his ear, he looked at it in uncertainty, wondering how long the service would last.

"I'm here," her voice was watery and had the slightest quiver to it.

"Is there any way you can get a hold of Dad? Wyatt and Brynna and everyone need to know."

"I can drive out there. They should be getting ready to pass through the mountains. If I leave right now I can catch them."

"Thanks," then he remembered that his brothers were on the cattle drive, "Oh! Mom?"

"I have to hurry if I want to find them before they get into the mountains."

"Make sure that Nate and Quinn and them don't hear of this. As much as I would love to join them," he paused, and the realization of how true that statement was hit him full force before he made himself, against his better judgment, continue," If anything happens to Ryan before the cops get involved, it wouldn't be good for Sam's case," Dimly, he was aware that he'd just told her who was responsible for this heartbreaking call.

She swore something that sounded suspiciously like 'dammit' under her breath before promising that she would be careful to not clue the Ely boys in and then she hung up. The click and dial tone sounded so abruptly in his ear that he looked at the phone with surprise.

Maxine Ely never swore.

Darrell reached a hand backwards over the seat for his cell and met Jake's eyes in the mirror again at the same time.

"She gonna go?"

"Yeah."

Darrell nodded as he pulled into the hospital's parking lot. "Well…we're here."

He parked the car and turned it off, then opened the door, got out and pulled the latch that brought the seat forward so Jake could get out.

As he handed Sam to Darrell, Jake looked around and asked, "Already? How long was I on the phone?"

Not that long," Darrell shrugged, handed Sam, who was still in a deep sleep due to exhaustion, back to his friend and added, "I just drove a little faster than usual."

And for Darrell, that's saying a lot.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Yes! It's finally posted! I'm not completely happy with it and there's still no action, but I wanted to give you guys _something_. You waited so patiently while I was being lazy. Thanks again to all my reviewers whom I urge to review again. They make me so happy!


	3. This Flesh a Tomb

Whispers of a Mourning Sky

**DISCLAIMER: **Only the plot is mine, since I don't think Terri Farley ever intended to write about one of her characters getting raped. All the rest belongs to her. Don't sue….please. :

**AN:** FINALLY! It's finally done and posted. I can't apologize enough for how long I've made you guys wait. I hope you like it.

PLEASE READ

I went back and changed a few details in the first two chapters to follow the books. Go back and reread them and let me know if I missed anything, please.

Thank you to all of my readers and a special 'thanks' to all of my reviewers. You guys gave me the motivation to finish this chapter.

3

**Chapter 3: This Flesh a Tomb**

"Excuse me, Miss?" Jake, still carrying the sleeping Samantha, approached the front desk of the E.R. and the woman sitting behind it quickly. Darrell followed silently. "Miss?"

The woman was tapping on the keyboard, eyes intent on the bright screen that cast its light over her face. Her gaze twitched to the two very tall young men at Jake's voice.

"Yes? Can I help you?" She'd stopped typing when her attention had been redirected, and now her fingers were poised above the keys. A faint static came from the device she wore in her ear.

"She needs a doctor," Jake glanced down at the unmoving Sam and back up to the receptionist, expecting immediate action.

The woman just blinked.

Darrell leaned towards her, an exasperated look on his face, "Are you seriously just _sitting_ there? She needs a doctor," he jerked his head towards Sam but didn't take his eyes off of the stunned receptionist, "Last time I checked, those aren't exactly in short supply here. It _is_ a hospital after all," Darrell's sarcasm didn't have much of an effect on the woman, but his next comments did. "You've gotta be kiddin—She was **raped**!" he broke off and whispered the last part furiously as he pointed sharply at the sleeping girl, "Aren't there tests that need to be done? A rape kit? Do your damn job woman!" He didn't bother to whisper the last sentence. His shout caused everyone in the lobby, including Jake, to stare at him. Sam jerked, but did not wake.

The receptionist jumped for the phone and quickly dialed a random and unidentifiable number, as Darrell turned his back to her, leaned up against the desk and scowled at everyone in the Waiting Room.

They hastily went back to whatever they had been doing before Darrell's outburst, all of them looking down and determinedly away from the young man.

Jake looked at his best friend tiredly.

"Thanks, man," relief was evident in his voice.

Darrell would not look at him, but clenched his jaw and said, "Anything for Sam, man."

Confused by his statement, Jake looked at him quizzically. It almost seemed like he had more to say. But he didn't get a chance to ask because, at that moment, the sound of footsteps approaching caused both young men to turn to their left, searching for the source.

A tall woman in a white coat walked briskly towards them, a clipboard in her hand, intelligent looking glasses perched on her nose and an even taller, fairly muscular male nurse pushing a bed on wheels following behind her.

Both came to a halt in front of Darrell and Jake.

The two teenagers stared blankly at her.

"My name is Dr. Morgan. Please, hand your friend to Mr. Dawson, here, and follow me," and with that, she turned, obviously expecting to be immediately obeyed.

After taking a few clacking steps, she realized that she was the only one who had moved.

She turned sharply, fixing Jake and Darrell with an intense gaze. "Yes?"

At the tone in her voice, Darrell jumped into action. Jake, though more sedate, moved immediately towards the very large Mr. Dawson and, with a last look at the sleeping girl's face, placed her in the big man's arms.

Turning to follow Darrell, who was following Dr. Morgan, Jake glanced over one shoulder in time to see the male nurse gently placing Sam on the rolling bed.

Dr. Morgan led the two teenagers to her office, which, thankfully, wasn't far away, because Jake was exhausted, and Darrell appeared to be in the same state.

The doctor took a seat behind a large, and slightly cluttered oak desk, and motioned for them to sit in two of the other chairs in the room.

Before he took his seat, Jake sighed, looked back at the closed door behind him, and rubbed the back of his neck.

Dr. Morgan sat, waiting expectantly for him to say what he obviously wanted to say.

Darrell, who had taken his seat in one of the offered chairs, looked from Jake to the doctor and back to Jake.

"With all do respect, ma'am," Jake took a step towards her and wrung his hands in front of him, "I just want to know that Sam's going to be okay."

The corner of the woman's mouth tilted upwards a fraction, the first hint of emotion that she'd shown.

"We won't know that until I get in there to examine her. Right now, they should be issuing the standard tests that they perform on victims of rape; a rape kit, if you will. But, I'll be taking a personal interest in this case, so I'll be doing her examination myself," she surveyed them over the top of her spectacles.

"But, please," she motioned for Jake to take a seat, "take a seat. I have some questions I'd like to ask you."

Jake hesitantly did as he was told.

Silence settled over the small room as both parties waited for the other to begin speaking. When neither of the boys obliged, Dr. Morgan rotated the ring on the fourth finger of her left hand restlessly. "I need to know what you know. I can get it from Samantha later, but I'd prefer to walk into that room knowing something."

Darrell didn't move, but Jake inhaled sharply and shifted in his chair.

Dr. Morgan held up her hand to keep him from speaking, signaling that she wasn't finished.

"I understand that it may be hard for you, and that's fine, but, I'd like to know all the same," something in her voice and the way she surveyed them from behind her spectacles reminded Jake strongly of Brynna, and he knew that he wouldn't be leaving this room without handing over his knowledge of the last couple of hours.

He reluctantly nodded and proceeded to tell her how he'd found Sam, the state in which he'd found her and the episode she'd had when he touched her hand. He told her of Darrell's arrival, the drive to the hospital and, finally, about the call to his mother. He decided to leave out Darrell's verbal abuse of the receptionist.

At the end of his speech the doctor smiled fully for the first time; it made her look softer, and somehow brighter.

"The very next question I was going to ask you was whether or not you'd contacted her family. You've taken care of everything, it seems. Very well," she paused, looking a little troubled, if the slight furrow in her brow was any indication, "I'd like to ask you more questions, but I need to see to your friend. You boys should head for the Waiting Room. I'll find you when we're all done. It shouldn't take long."

Jake and Darrell stood in unison and shook hands with the woman, thanking her quietly.

Then they showed themselves out.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The two teenage boys plopped down in the big, comfy chairs. Immediately and in perfect sync, they propped elbows on knees and let their heads fall into their hands.

After ten minutes of silence, Jake sighed and looked at his friend.

Darrell, sensing his friend's stare, muttered, "What?" without looking up.

Jake let the question hover between them for a few seconds and then croaked awkwardly, unable to form his thoughts into a coherent question.

Darrell finally looked at him quizzically, each line of his face showing just how much the events of the day had taken out of him, but he didn't say anything.

Under that gaze, Jake scrambled to organize his thoughts, and hastily decided to go in a completely different direction.

"What were you gonna say? You know, right after you scared the shit outta the receptionist?"

Darrell blinked, and looked away. He let out a heavy, gruff sigh and looked at his hands.

"You know, man. The next time I see that son of a bitch, I just might kill him."

Jake didn't say anything, because he agreed, but he hadn't known that Darrell had cared that much about Sam.

"I just…" he trailed off for a second, thinking deeply, then continued his sentence with renewed strength, "…One of the things I like most about Sam was her innocence. And that bastard took that away from her."

He sighed again, all strength gone and lifted a hand to run his fingers through his hair. Then he looked at Jake, and Jake could see the defeat in his friend's eyes.

"She'll never bee 'Sam' again," and that was the last thing either one of them said for a long time, leaving Jake to ponder just how accurate this statement was.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

They sat in silence. Jake didn't bother to look at the clock that steadily ticked away above their heads; he didn't care what time it was or how long they'd been sitting there. It didn't matter really. It felt like an eternity anyway.

As Jake sat and stared, the sun went down, but he didn't notice. People walked by, but Jake didn't care.

At one point, when his mind wasn't filled with thoughts of Sam and what was happening to her upstairs and how she was feeling, and his imagination wasn't going wild imagining all the horrible things she'd gone through, and what she was going to have to face, Jake thought back to why he'd decided to hate hospitals.

He shivered inwardly.

To him, this place meant needles and surgery and tall, faceless people in bland white coats poking him with cold metal instruments…

…And a lot of teasing from his brothers.

Not a pleasant memory in the bunch.

A bell chimed somewhere, reminding him briefly of the clock at River Bend Ranch.

Night had fallen while he'd been lost in thought, creeping up on him stealthily, silently, while he'd been thinking of something other than Sam.

Looking to his left, he saw that Darrell was in a similar state, and decided to leave him be.

He settled down to wait, and found himself swept away by his imagination again.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Darrell saw Dr. Morgan first, and launched himself from his chair towards her before Jake could even guess what was going on.

"How is she?" he asked anxiously, just barely remembering to keep his voice down in time.

Dr. Morgan nodded once in greeting to Jake, who'd arrived at the spot where she had stood waiting for them just two beats behind his friend, took a deep breath, and met Darrell's eyes, since it was he who'd asked the question, calmly, though it was clear she was a little shaken, "She's suffered from three broken fingers, a fractured wrist, four cracked ribs and severe bruising to her thighs, stomach, neck, shoulders, arms and face. She also received a minor gash to the head, a split lip and…" she trailed off, racking her brain for the right word, "…_abrasions_ to her shoulders and breasts."

Jake and Darrell colored slightly upon hearing the last word, Darrell more noticeably so, both clearly uncomfortable with the topic of their friend's "unmentionables".

Unnoticed by the two embarrassed boys, the female doctor smirked slightly at their discomfort.

--_Some things never change_--

In hopes of raising their spirits a little, Dr. Morgan listed the last injury.

"There _is_ one more," she said softly, dropping her cool, professional demeanor for the moment. Jake and Darrell, who had been sharing a distressed glance, jerked their attention back to her, clearly dreading what she was going to say.

"The knuckles of her right hand also sustained severe bruising and there was tissue under the nails of her left hand, which we collected in our rape kit," at the blank looks she received, she continued slowly, "…that means she fought back, and hard. I'm fairly sure that her attacker didn't escape unscathed, which will make him easier to identify and the tissue sample will help the case against him greatly."

Despite the severity of their situation, both Jake and Darrell nearly beamed with pride in the girl they both cared greatly for.

Timidly, Jake spoke, "Is that all?"

"Those are all the physical injuries she sustained, yes," her professional, unattached tone was back.

Jake nodded.

"Is she going to be alright, doctor?"

"Physically? …Yes, I believe she'll make a full recovery. We've treated all her cuts and scrapes and have cleaned and stitched the gash on her head. Her bruises will fade with time. But," she hurried to finish when the two boys looked relieved, "I believe that, like most victims of rape, she will suffer some psychological…problems."

"Like what?" Darrell looked cofused.

"Like paranoia. The inability to trust, particularly in men. Depression," she ticked them off one by one on her fingers, "Some of the most extreme cases also involve schizophrenia and, sometimes, suicide," Jake and Darrell looked alarmed. "It all depends on how strong she is when dealing with tragedies such as these. No two women react the same."

Silence met her words. Both young men seemed to have turned their thoughts inward.

"If you want," she continued unsteadily, "you both can go up and see her. As long as you're quiet."

Darrell adopted a comically overjoyed expression, and nodded his head wildly. The only reaction from Jake, who'd blanked out his expression, was a slight twitch of his mouth and nod of his head.

The woman nodded back and, without another word, turned on her heel and led them through the sliding double doors.

This time, they followed without hesitation.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Here we are," Dr. Morgan came to a halt in front of a plain door with the number 309 inscribed on its surface. She placed her hand on the handle, and paused, settling her gaze on the two young men who had followed her to this spot.

"Now," she said sternly, "I'm allowing you two to violate visiting hours and go in to see your friend. Please don't make me regret it," neither boy flinched under the stare she pegged them with. "If she is asleep, please respect that and don't wake her. If she happens to be awake, don't do anything to set her off. If she has another episode, she's likely to wake other patients, and it's possible she could injure herself or others. Keep your voices down, keep her calm and relaxed, and everything should be fine."

And then she left.

Jake and Darrell, stunned at her sudden departure, stared after her for a long minute. Jake came back to himself first.

Without a single word or glance at his friend, he put his hand on the door knob, turned it, and pushed.

The dim lighting of the room allowed Jake and Darrell's eyes to adjust quickly and focus on the bed in the middle of the room.

Memory shot through Jake like a bolt.

The last time he'd seen Sam in a hospital bed, he'd become aware of just how _small_ she was. The bed dwarfed her immensely.

Because they could see she was sleeping, and both feared the wrath of Dr. Morgan, the approached the bed quietly and fought to stay silent when they witnessed the damage Ryan had done.

From head to toe, most of Sam's skin was mottled with bruises.

The area around her left eye had turned a pale, delicate purple that got darker the closer it got to the epicenter of where Ryan had hit her. The streak of blood that had graced her cheek had been washed off, but her lip was split in two places.

The bruising on her neck fanned out over her shoulders and down her arms.

At the junction where her neck and shoulders met were bruises that were even darker than those around them. They were shaped perfectly like purple handprints.

In the space between her neck and right shoulder were the "abrasions" that Dr. Morgan had spoken of. Only they weren't abrasions at all, they were teeth marks.

The bruising extended all down her arms. In addition to the discoloration, above both elbows was scored with deep scratches. Strangely, while there were five separate scratches on her left arm, there were only three on her right. With a jolt, Jake realized that this was because she'd inflicted the scratches on herself.

The last three fingers on her left hand were encased in a splint, separate from the powder blue cast around her left wrist and forearm.

Just like the doctor had mentioned, the knuckles on her right hand were bruised and scraped, all the blood cleaned away.

Her legs, the parts of them that weren't covered by the blankets anyway, were just as bad as her arms; with the bruising getting darker and denser the closer it got to her pelvic region.

The only damage to her feet was a scrape that ran over the top of her right foot.

The rest of her body was covered by the hospital gown she wore.

Ryan had beaten her thoroughly and Jake's mouth dropped open in plain mortification. He felt a mixture of sympathy and revulsion. As well as pure hatred for the bastard that had done this to Sam. _His_ Sam.

Next to him, Darrell brought his hand to his mouth to cover it in his shock, and bit his finger to keep from crying out.

Distantly, Jake wondered how he'd managed to miss seeing all of this, especially considering all the time he'd spent at River Bend with her crying on his lap. But the reasonable part of his brain reminded him that the bruises hadn't had much time to develop fully and, even if they had, he'd been too much in shock to notice.

The same went for Darrell.

Though he tried valiantly, Jake was unable to keep his gaze from falling to the damage to her legs.

Finally, he was able to jerk his attention away as he looked to his right and whispered furiously to Darrell, "She calls this _fine_?!"

Darrell didn't respond. He seemed unable to stop staring at the beaten girl on the bed.

Sam twitched, as if she felt his gaze on her skin, and then she jerked awake.

Jake expected her to scream for them to get out, or start crying hysterically, or something that showed some sign of fear, but she didn't. She'd recognized them immediately, and her only reaction was to yawn and stretch lazily, as if they'd just caught her taking an afternoon nap instead. The only indication that felt the pain she'd so obviously been through was a wince when she accidentally jostled her cast while stretching.

"Hey guys," she mumbled tiredly as she came out of her yawn and she reached up to rub her eyes. She winced again when she put pressure on the bruise there, "Ouch."

Darrell stepped to her side immediately, asking if he could get her anything, if there was anything he could do at all.

Jake remained motionless and unable to speak at the foot of the bed.

Weakly, the corner of Sam's mouth rose a quarter of an inch in a sad, almost-smile at Darrell's fretting, and shook her head in response.

The purple around her eye seemed to darken as Jake looked at it. The cracks in her lip started to bleed. Blood spots decorated the gown and sheets around her thighs.

Noticing his stare, Sam self-consciously tucked her legs under the relatively white sheets. "They let me take a shower and cleaned me up a little, but the bleeding," her blush was harder to see on the half of her face that was bruised, "is normal."

Abruptly, words came to Jake, falling to the tip of his tongue effortlessly, and he blurted them out without thought, "Your family is on the way. They should be here any time.

Because he's expected this news to make her happy, which is perhaps the exact reason why he'd been so ready to blurt it out, something greatly against his character, he was surprised when she suddenly looked like she was going to cry again.

Sam looked down at her gown and plucked at it awkwardly. Then she asked quietly, "Dad's coming?" It was almost a whisper. Jake just barely caught it.

He nodded, but added when he realized she was still looking down, and couldn't see him, "Yeah. Brynna, Grace, Cody, and probably my mom, too."

Jake was caught wholly off-guard when she started to wail so loudly, both Jake and Darrell were certain they'd be kicked out and never let back in.

Darrell met his eyes in alarm.

"I don't want my dad to see me like this!"

Darrell began to try and verbally comfort her, but she didn't seem to hear a word he said.

Instead, she buried her face in her hands, which was rather difficult, because on of them was almost entirely encased in plaster, and cried, "He's gonna be so disappointed in me!"

Now Jake, too, went to her side. Darrell moved around to the other side of the bed.

"How can you say that? None of this is your fault. No matter what anyone says," she wouldn't look at him, but she did stop wailing loud enough to wake the dead. Deciding to risk the explosion it could cause, he placed a gentle finger under her chin and lifted her face to meet his eyes. She reluctantly obliged. "You understand? Wyatt ain't gonna think nothing bad about you. You hear me?"

Her large, chocolate brown eyes were fixed solely on his own.

"_Mustang eyes"_

Where his words had failed, his eyes succeeded.

Her world narrowed to just this moment, just this contact she was sharing with her best friend.

Her tears stopped completely. Her shallow breathing returned to normal slowly. The roaring in her ears stopped.

Jake gave her a minute, and then repeated his words slowly, to make sure they sunk in, "Your dad loves you to death, Samantha Ann. He's not going to blame you, or be disappointed in you. Do you understand me?"

Sam sniffed and nodded.

Darrell coughed. Both Jake and Sam looked at him, a little startled: they'd both forgotten he was there.

"I think we should go now, man," he shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded his head towards Sam, "You know, give her some time to rest before her dad and them gets here."

Jake nodded slowly, almost to himself, released Sam's chin and straightened with a deep sigh.

"Remember what I said, Sam," he muttered before moving towards the door.

When he touched the doorknob, he heard a noise and glanced over his shoulder at the red-headed girl he'd known practically his whole life, thinking she was about to respond, but she remained silent, staring after them.

The corner of his mouth lifted, offering her a rare smile.

And then he turned the knob, pulled open the door and stepped out, Darrell one step behind him.

As he walked down the hall towards the elevator, he tried to convince himself that he wasn't leaving her when she needed him the most.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Down in the lobby once again, Jake heard a commotion.

Jake's mom, Wyatt, Grace and Brynna, who had the 6 moth old baby Cody perched on her hip, stood at the receptionist's desk. The three women looked anxious and worried. Wyatt looked angry.

He stood in front of a cowering woman, back rigid, shoulders tense, hands palm-down and splayed flat before him on the marble smooth surface of the desk.

"What do you mean I can't see my daughter?" he bellowed.

"I'm sorry sir, but visiting hours are over," Jake half thought the woman would shrink into her skin with fright at having to face down a pissed off Wyatt Forster. Seeing that Wyatt was rapidly turning purple, he hurried at a jog down the corridor and through the doors towards the gathering.

"I'm her father, and I demand to see my daughter this instant!"

"I-I-I am very s-sorry, sir," she started to repeat, but Wyatt cut her off.

"Bring me the doctor who treated Samantha Forster! Right now!"

"Wyatt!" Jake called when he was close enough.

The Forsters and Maxine turned at Jake's voice to see him and Darrell jogging down the hall and through the sliding doors.

Saved, the poor woman wasted no time. She scrambled back behind her desk, picked up the phone, dialed, and started to rapidly speak into the mouth piece once again.

"Jake!" Mrs. Ely threw her arms around her son and hugged him furiously.

"Jake," Wyatt's voice was back to its normal volume, but now it was strained with worry. When Maxine let go of him and stepped aside, Wyatt stepped up to stand in front of him and placed his hand on the younger man's shoulder, gripping it tightly, "Where is she?"

Jake chose to ignore the pain that shot through his arm, "She's sleeping in room 309 on the third floor. Darrell and I just came from seeing her, but the doors will have been locked by now. Dr. Morgan let us in special."

Just as Wyatt was about to ask who the hell Dr. Morgan was, she walked through the sliding doors briskly, clipboard in hand. "You asked for me, sir?"

Wyatt jerked his attention from Jake to the doctor, and he released the death grip he had on Jake's shoulder.

"Yes ma'am. If you're the doctor who saw to my daughter."

"I am. Can I help you?" She scribbled something on her clipboard and crossed something else out.

"Can I see her, doctor?"

There was a moment of silence, in which Wyatt's question hung in the air between him and Dr. Morgan, and then she looked up at him and smiled kindly, "If you're family, I believe we can break the rules just this once," she turned and took a few steps, then stopped and looked over her shoulder at the group, all of whom had started forward to follow, "Only three at a time, please."

Wyatt and Grace continued to follow her down the hall, but Brynna hesitated and looked down at the smiling and laughing Cody in her arms.

"I'll take him, Brynna," Maxine held out her arms and plucked Cody from Brynna's, "You go on and see to Samantha now."

Brynna smiled gratefully at the other woman and hugged her. Then she kissed her son's nose affectionately and followed her husband and mother-in-law as they followed the doctor.

Cody giggled happily and bounced in Maxine's arms, unaware of the situation and the heavy weight that settled in the air as the doors slid closed behind Brynna with a hiss.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Wyatt and Grace did not return to the lobby once during the rest of the night. Brynna, however, had to return regularly to feed Cody and coax him to sleep.

When the sun rose, it shed its soft light on Mrs. Ely, Jake and Darrell, all asleep in their chairs.

Darrell held the sleeping Cody in his arms. He'd taken him from Maxine after she'd fallen unexpectedly asleep. Jake had suggested waking her, but Darrell insisted he could handle it. Remembering that Darrell often took care of his younger cousin, Jake conceded.

Cody was the first to wake, and, upon finding no one to feed him, started to cry.

Darrell jerked awake with a loud snort, looking a little lost, but he stood, taking Cody with him, and started to bounce up and down and side to side in a rhythm that hypnotized most infants. He moved almost mechanically, as if he was doing it out of habit, and hadn't quite registered that it wasn't his cousin he was trying to persuade to go back to sleep.

But Cody was hungry, and wouldn't calm down until his demands were met. He started to wail.

Darrell tried desperately to sooth him with words, "Ssh, baby. You're okay. Go back to sleep. It's all going to be okay…Please, _go back to sleep_," he almost whined the last, but Cody was having none of it.

By this time, both Jake and Mrs. Ely were awake as well, and stirring groggily in their chairs. No one else was in the lobby with them.

Just then, almost as if she was sent down from heaven as Darrell's own personal savior, Brynna strode through the doors.

Seeing her, Maxine sprang to her feet.

"Hey, little man. Are you hungry? Here, let me take him. Thanks Darrell," she held out her arms and took her son from the still slightly confused young man, then she reached into the bag she's brought with her, pulled out a bottle, and began to feed Cody.

"Brynna," Maxine began tiredly, "how is she?"

"She looks like someone beat the crap out of her," Brynna responded bluntly, and Jake and Darrell both agreed silently.

Maxine looked stunned, but did her best to offer consolation, "I know it's a cliché, but everything is going to be okay," she folded her hands behind her back and looked down at the exhausted woman carefully.

"Thank you, Maxine. But, I'm not the one who needs hearing it. Wyatt's the one who's threatening to commit violent crimes against the entire Slocum family."

"He'll have to get in line," Darrell muttered from behind Maxine.

Brynna glanced at him, but said nothing as she continued to feed her son.

Mrs. Ely, however, spun around and fixed him with a shocked look. "Darrell!" she cried, "I can't believe you just said that."

"Sorry ma'am," he said, but he didn't sound the least bit apologetic.

Maxine didn't pursue it, too tired to scold him. If she allowed herself to admit it, she didn't even think he deserved scolding for stating what everybody was thinking. She turned back to Brynna.

"How long are they going to keep her here?"

"Dr. Morgan said she'd like to keep her here till they get the blood work and the results from all the tests they did to check for STDs back," Maxine, Darrell, and Jake all looked horrified at the idea of Sam catching Chlamydia, or Syphilis or worse, HIV, after all she's already been through. Brynna continued, "She told Wyatt that they gave Sam the Morning After drug, so she wouldn't get pregnant and Wyatt looked about ready to pass out."

A few minutes passed before anyone realized that she hadn't actually answered the question.

"So that's, how long? A week, or so?" Darrell inquired.

Brynna nodded, "She'll stay about a week."

Silence reigned for a few minutes; the only sound was Cody sucking on his bottle.

Then, Jake abruptly broke it, "Wyatt's not thinking about sending her back to San Francisco, is he?"

Darrell and Mrs. Ely looked at him, alarmed, but Brynna only glanced up at him for a second before returning her attention back to her baby, "He mentioned it, but Dr. Morgan talked him out of it before I could," Jake hid his relief from everybody, "Besides," Brynna continued, "I don't think he was serious. He knows, without having to be told by a doctor, that separating Sam from her family and friends at a time like this could only lead to disaster," she paused as Cody stopped drinking to burp and then latched his mouth back on to the nipple of the bottle, "I think he was just scared."

Everybody was quiet again for a few more minutes, watching Cody.

Then the silence was broken again, this time by Darrell, "You're going to press charges, right?"

That startled Brynna. "Of course we are. We won't let him get away with this, Darrell," she sighed, "We won't know anything until the rape kit comes back, but Sam insisted that she didn't shower until they'd gotten all that they needed. So there should be plenty of evidence against Ryan."

Darrell nodded.

After a moment's thought, Brynna added, "Dr. Morgan told us that she would call the Sheriff first thing in the morning," then she looked out the window at the rising sun, "If she did, Heck should be here at anytime. When he comes, could you direct him to Sam's room, please?" she spoke to all of them, but she looked at Maxine when she said it.

"Of course, Brynna, you don't even need to ask," Maxine hurried to assure her friend.

But Jake was still troubled about something, and it showed clearly on his face.

"Jake?" Brynna looked at him with a furrowed brow.

Jake hesitated for a second, then rushed to say everything he was thinking before he lost his nerve, "you said Wyatt was threatening to hurt Ryan," it wasn't a question, but Brynna responded anyway.

"He wasn't serious, Jake. He knows he can't touch Ryan if we want every chance we can get to put him away with his father."

Jake nodded, wishing she hadn't said anything, because it made it that much harder for him to continue speaking, but he did his best, "Yeah, but…" he searched for the right way to phrase it, "…My brothers aren't as reasonable, and they see Sam as the little sister they never had. There's no telling what they'll do once they get back from the cattle drive."

Maxine didn't seem the least bit shocked at the statement that her sons got into fights to settle their problems with others.

"We'll just have to find a way to keep them away from Ryan. We can't take the chance that Ryan's lawyers will convince the judge to use any injury your brothers give him to postpone the trial, or drop it altogether."

Everyone nodded at Brynna's words. She turned a pointed gaze to Darrell and said sternly, "That means you, too."

Darrell nodded reluctantly, looking disappointed.

Brynna looked at Maxine, "I know you'll do your best to keep them away from him, Maxine, but I think we should let Sheriff Ballard know that Sam's case is in danger when he gets here. He'll know what to do."

People started to trickle in through the front doors of the hospital. Seeing them, Brynna was reminded that her step-daughter was upstairs and she needed to get back to her.

"I'd better go. Grace and I have to try and convince Wyatt to go home and get some proper sleep, even though we both know he'll never agree to it. I'm pretty sure none of us will be able to get a good night's sleep for weeks, but Grace and I need to go back to River Bend anyway," she handed Cody back to Maxine, who looked at her quizzically, but took the baby anyway. Seeing the look she was getting from the other woman, Brynna elaborated, "The police need to get in the house to gather evidence, and then we need to clean it all up before Sam goes back there."

She stretched and started to walk back through the sliding doors. Suddenly, she stopped, turned and ran back to the three surprised people, hugging each one of them furiously in turn.

"Thank you," she sniffed, "for all you've done. I speak for me, Wyatt, Grace, _and _Sam."

Then she turned from them again and started the trek back up to Sam's room.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** So…I finally finished it. I was just reading through it again for the 5th time, and it seemd a little rushed to me. Sorry :/ Anyway, if there's anything wrong with it, any errors that I looked over, please, don't hesitate to let me know. Please remember that I'm still trying to get my feet back underneath me with regards to my writing. It's hard to produce a quality chapter when you're just finding your muse again. Aside from that, how about you push that little button and give me some feedback, yeah:


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